Augustino Eugenio Mercurio OAM (1928 - 2010)

Born 10 Aug 1928 in West Bend, Washington, Wisconsin, United States

Ancestors

Died 7 Dec 2010 at age 82 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

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Biography

Gus Mercurio OAM is Notable.

Gus Mercurio was an American-born Australian character actor who appeared in radio, television and film. He was also a professional boxer, international boxing referee and industry administrator. He wrote two books on boxing. He was recognisable for his gravelly voice.

Formative years

Gus was of Sicilian descent

Augustino Eugenio 'Gus' Mercurio was born on 10th August 1928 in the city of West Bend, Washington County, Wisconsin, United States. He was the eldest of four children of Vince Mercurio, of Sicilian descent, and Cecilia 'Mickey' Miller. His parents divorced when he was seven years of age.^[1] He attended Bay View High School, Milwaukee. He was 171cm tall (5' 7½") but stockily-built.

Military service

He left home at seventeen and joined the merchant navy (some sources say at fifteen, falsifying his birth certificate), where he served for three years before briefly enlisting in the US Marine Corps. Taking his discharge, Gus turned professional as a boxer. ^[2] His younger brother, Tony (1934-2006), became a career soldier, retiring as a US Army Lieutenant Colonel.^[3]

Migration

Gus Mercurio OAM migrated from Wisconsin USA to Victoria, Australia.

At 27 years of age, Gus visited Australia in 1956 with his wife, Shirley, and their first two children to watch the boxing at the Melbourne Olympics. They decided to stay, settling at Ballarat, Victoria, where Gus opened a chiropractory practice.^[1] In 1989, he became an Australian citizen.

Boxing

With his heritage (his father, as Vince McGurk, and uncle, as Ray Miller, were professional boxers),^[1] it may have been a foregone conclusion that Gus would enter the world of professional boxing. Be that as it may, Gus related that he learned to fight to defend himself on the streets. He took up amateur boxing, being guided at a Catholic boy's club backed by police, and went on to have more 65 amateur fights. Gus discovered in the marines that 'if you boxed, you had a good deal going for you'.^[2] After completing his miliatry service, Gus turned professional. He was injured in his final two of 36 bouts. He then became an international boxing judge, refereeing a world title fight, and was also a well-known boxing promoter. He later became the inaugural president of the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame. ^[1]

Gus was inducted into the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008. He had been nominated two years earlier but declined, as he was still serving on the committee. ^[1]

The Gus Mercurio Memorial Award was first awarded in 2017 for services to boxing to those whose nominations to not result in induction into the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame. ^[4]

Chiropractor

As he was being treated by his chiropractor for his boxing injuries, Gus decided that this was a valid career option. He completed a four-year degree in chiropractory at Iowa and then undertook some post-graduate work in California. Moving to Ballarat, Victoria in 1956 he opened a practice there. Following his (first) divorce, Gus moved to Swan Hill, Victoria, on the Murray River, and opened a practice as well as a gymnasium, coaching young blokes at boxing. ^[2]

Acting

By 1964, Gus' gravelly voice (from being punched in the throat during a street fight), energetic personality and natural talents came to the attention of Australian television production houses, and he soon began appearing as a regular 'bad guy' on several television police series including Homicide (1964), Division 4 (1969) and Matlock Police (1971). He was memorable in Australian period-style television shows including Cash and Company (1975), Tandarra (1976) and Power Without Glory (1976). His film appearances included The Man from Snowy River (1982), Crocodile Dundee II (1988) and Doing Time for Patsy Cline (1997).^[5]

Arguably, his most memorable performances were as Frew, a stockman in The Man from Snowy River with the line, "Curly! Lose the gun", and in the mini-series, All the Rivers Run (1983), as Tom, a sailor and riverboat skipper. (opinion of Ken Evans)

To view Gus' full filmography, see Gus Mercurio at IMDb.

Writing

Gus was an author

During the 1990s, Gus published two literary works:

• Hang in There: Inspirational Gems to Empower You!. Wilkinson Books, Melbourne, 1994. ISBN 1-86350-168-1.
• Boxin': all you wanted to know but didn't want to fight to ask. Regus, Kew, 1998. ISBN 0-646-35241-5.

Family

Gus married Shirley unknown; with whom he had three children. They settled in Ballarat, Victoria in 1956 with their first two children. They had a further child, however divorced shortly afterward and Shirley returned to the US with the children: ^[5][2][6]

• Jo Mercurio
• Vincent Mercurio
• Tony Mercurio

He married Jean McKibbin after 1959 at Swan Hill, Victoria. They had four children including:^[6]

• Paul Mercurio (31 Mar 1963-living) (the star of the 1992 film Strictly Ballroom),^[7][8]
• Connie Mercurio (1960s-living)
• Michael Mercurio (1960s-pre-deceased Gus)
• archive from Joseph Mercurio (1960s-living)

Gus and Jean separated in 1966, whereupon Jean and the children moved to Western Australia. ^[5] Gus moved to Melbourne and their divorce was finalised in 1968. The four children have followed Gus into the entertainment industry.

Gus and Rita Tanno / Ball were engaged in a long-time partnership of thirty years; ended only by his death. They did not have any children.^[5]

Final 'curtain call'

Aged 82 years, Gus passed away during surgery for a chest aneurism on 7th December 2010 at Melbourne, Victoria. ^[1] He was survived by Rita and six children.

By way of eulogy, son Paul said, "There's a little bit of sunshine that's just gone out and will never be replaced. It's a great shame ... he was a lovely man. He was a larger-than-life bloke. He was passionate. He was driven ... He had a great, a wonderful confidence ... he was a pain in the arse quite often because of that and yet he lived with such fervour that he was magnetic." ^[9]

Gus was posthumously awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honours list 2012 for 'service to boxing as an administrator and sports commentator, as a film, television and stage actor, and to the community'. ^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} Wikipedia profile: Gus Mercurio; accessed 30 Mar 2018
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Carman, Gary and Paul Upham. "Thinking man's boxer and more." The Age. 9 Dec 2010; retrieved 30 Mar 2018
3. ↑ Arlington Cemetery; accessed 2 Apr 2020
4. ↑ Wikipedia: Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame; accessed 2 Apr 2020
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3} IMDb profile: Gus Mercurio; accessed 30 Mar 2018
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Silvers, Amy Rabideau. "Wisconsin's Mercurio was a famous actor in Australia" Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, Wisconsin). 11 Dec 2010; retrieved 30 Mar 2018
7. ↑ Wikipedia profile: Paul Mercurio; accessed 30 Mar 2018
8. ↑ IMDb profile: Paul Mercurio; accessed 30 Mar 2018
9. ↑ ABC: 'Gus Mercurio dies aged 82'; accessed 2 Apr 2020
10. ↑ Australian Honours: Gus Mercurio OAM; accessed 2 Apr 2020

• "Paul Mercurio." Who Do You Think You Are? (Season 3, Episode 5). SBS One. 26 Dec. 2010.